Alpaca Health vs Success On The Spectrum
Success On The Spectrum is an ABA clinic franchise. Alpaca Health helps BCBAs start their own practice without a franchise.
Alpaca Health and Success On The Spectrum compared
| Compared on | Alpaca Health | Success On The Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Alpaca Health$0 | Success On The SpectrumAbout $500,000 |
| How your pay is set | Alpaca HealthSet rates per session, higher when you find the client | Success On The Spectrum$45,000 fee plus royalties |
| When you get paid | Alpaca HealthEvery 2 weeks, guaranteed | Success On The SpectrumYou bill and collect |
| How long credentialing takes | Alpaca HealthTypically weeks, under existing contracts | Success On The SpectrumIncluded, no separate fee |
| Who sources your clients | Alpaca HealthShared, referrals stay yours | Success On The SpectrumYour clinic, brand marketing helps |
| Who sources your RBTs | Alpaca HealthBoth post jobs, Alpaca Health runs payroll | Success On The SpectrumYour clinic hires |
| Clinical software | Alpaca HealthBuilt in house | Success On The SpectrumThird-party subscriptions |
| Who owns the practice | Alpaca HealthYou do | Success On The SpectrumYou do, under their brand |
| States covered | Alpaca HealthTexas, Colorado, North Carolina, Hawaii, Michigan | Success On The Spectrum96 clinics in 20 states |
What you get with Alpaca Health
Alpaca Health runs the business side of the practice while it stays in your name.
How long credentialing takes
You cannot bill until you are credentialed, so the wait decides how long you go without income after leaving a salary.
Alpaca Health
You are credentialed under existing group contracts, including Medicaid, so you join contracts that already exist instead of applying for your own.
Success On The Spectrum
Credentialing is listed in the franchise package with no separate fee.
When you get paid
Payment timing sets how long a new practice has to cover payroll out of its own pocket.
Every two weeks, guaranteed
Alpaca Health pays on a fixed two-week cycle rather than when the insurer settles.
Denials and clawbacks absorbed
If a claim is denied or delayed, Alpaca Health takes the loss. Your payout does not change and nothing is clawed back from your practice, so a rejected claim never reaches your payroll.
How Success On The Spectrum handles it
Your clinic bills and collects from the insurer, so cash flow follows the insurer's timeline. Their published startup costs include six months of working capital for that reason.
Who brings you clients and staff
Alpaca Health brings in leads. Success On The Spectrum gives your clinic a national brand to market under.
Where your clients come from
Success On The Spectrum clinics market locally under the national brand, with community outreach built into the model.
Alpaca Health shares the work
Alpaca Health runs national marketing and press to bring in leads, and your practice does its own local outreach, so the referral relationships you build stay with you.
Hiring RBTs
You post the role either way, and Alpaca Health also posts it on Indeed and other job boards. Alpaca Health runs the payroll, and staff payroll for six months is a line item in the franchise startup costs.
What software you use
You will work in this software every day, and support comes from whoever builds it.
Alpaca Health builds its own
Scheduling, data collection, session notes, billing, intake and payroll run in one system built and maintained in house. Payroll runs off the sessions your staff sign out, and AI session note and treatment plan tools are built in, with the clinical decisions left to you.
Success On The Spectrum uses subscriptions
Software subscriptions appear as a line item in their published startup costs, so your clinic pays for and runs its own tools.
What happens if you leave or switch
The agreement with Alpaca Health runs one year and renews. You can end it with 90 days' notice at no cost.
Is there a lock-in or exit fee?
Alpaca Health does not ask for exclusivity, so you can work with another platform at the same time, and there is no termination fee. You keep your own LLC and brand throughout and are credentialed under contracts that already exist.
Whose brand is on the clinic?
A franchise clinic trades under the Success On The Spectrum name in a defined territory. With Alpaca Health your practice carries your own name.
What happens to your families and staff?
Clients you found stay with your practice. Clients Alpaca Health referred to you stay with Alpaca Health. Staff Alpaca Health recruited for you can come with you. There is no non-solicit on them.
Which states are covered
Where a company is credentialed today decides where you can bill. Alpaca Health is credentialed in all five states below.
Alpaca Health covers five states
Success On The Spectrum has 96 clinics
Success On The Spectrum publishes these figures on its franchising site. Territories are sold, so what is available near you depends on what is left.
Why BCBAs choose Alpaca Health
You own the practice and the brand, and Alpaca Health takes no equity in it.
Paid every two weeks, guaranteed
Alpaca Health pays on a fixed cycle and absorbs denials and clawbacks, so a rejected claim never lands on your payroll.
No franchise fee and no territory
You launch under your own name and keep your own LLC. Alpaca Health takes no equity and sets no territory.
Credentialed under existing contracts
You join insurance contracts that already exist, including Medicaid, across all five states Alpaca Health operates in.
If you are weighing other alternatives or thinking about switching, Alpaca Health is also compared with Headstart Health, Finni Health, Tilly Therapy, Passage Health and Hi-5 ABA. Compare all major ABA platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Does Success On The Spectrum take equity in my practice?
No. Franchisees own their clinic, and Alpaca Health takes no equity either. A franchise clinic pays an initial fee and trades under the franchisor's brand in a set territory. With Alpaca Health you launch under your own name, with no fee to start.
What does Success On The Spectrum charge?
They publish a $45,000 initial franchise fee, six months of royalties between $2,400 and $30,000, and a total startup cost of about $500,000. Alpaca Health charges nothing to launch and pays your practice set rates per session from a rate sheet, with a higher rate for clients you find yourself. You get the rate sheet for your state on a first call, so you can model your take-home pay.
What happens to my insurance contracts if I leave?
As a franchisee your clinic holds its own contracts. Alpaca Health credentials you under contracts it already holds, which is what makes it fast. If you leave Alpaca Health, the clients you found stay with your practice and staff Alpaca Health recruited can come with you. There is no termination fee, and the agreement can be ended with 90 days' notice.
Do I have to use a particular clinical software?
Software subscriptions appear as a line item in the franchise startup costs. Alpaca Health builds and maintains its own, so scheduling, notes, billing, intake and payroll sit in one system and support comes from the team that wrote it.
Which company operates in my state?
Success On The Spectrum lists 96 clinics across 20 states and sells territories. Alpaca Health supports practices in Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Hawaii and Michigan, and in those five you join insurance contracts that already exist there, including Medicaid.
Who brings in the clients?
Franchise clinics market locally under the national brand. Alpaca Health shares it, running national marketing and press while your practice does its own local outreach, which means the referral relationships you build stay with you.
How does Alpaca Health compare with other ABA platforms?
Alpaca Health is compared with Headstart Health, Finni Health, Tilly Therapy, Passage Health, Success On The Spectrum and Hi-5 ABA. Compare all major ABA platforms.
Start your own ABA practice with Alpaca Health
Alpaca Health sets up your legal entity, credentials you under existing insurance contracts including Medicaid, and runs billing, payroll and intake on software built in house. You own the practice and the brand, and Alpaca Health takes no equity.